Happy Candlenights, Sirs!
by Sherlock's 2nd Blogger
Summary: A The Adventure Zone oneshot for the Candlenights Exchange 2019. All Angus wants for Candlenights this year is to hand out some good gifts and maybe get a macaron. Unknown to him, there are bigger plans in store. Rated T for some canon-typical language.


**A/N:** This is my half of the Candlenights exchange for RhymeReason on AO3! I am so, so sorry this is a week late. Hopefully the length makes up for it. I had to cut a few ideas in order to keep it Ango-centric and stop it from spiraling further than it did, but I hope to post a few related oneshots at some point.

I know RhymeReason likes to keep things as canon compliant as possible, but I had to tweak the timeline a tiny bit to make this idea fit with my current knowledge of the show. (I did try to binge it, but for many reasons was only able to finish The Eleventh Hour and... well. Now I'm late, lol.)

Critical information: In order to make this idea work with what I know about the show (AKA nothing past The Eleventh Hour), I had to mess with the timeline a little bit and take advantage of the weird passage of time. Essentially, I'm moving the pre-Crystal Kingdom Candlenights party to a different point in time and adding another Candlenights between it and the chaos that happened after Crystal Kingdom. Hopefully that makes sense.

And, now that this is up, I can finally go read mine~

Temperatures were dropping, precipitation was getting more and more frozen, and the skies were getting dark sooner at the same time thousands of lights lit up the night in every town. The halls of the Moon Base were decked, and a particular small room had a little shrub proudly displayed on its only table. Another Candlenights season was kicking up, and Angus was ready for it. He'd saved up from missions, made several trips to the Fantasy Costco, and he had hopefully gotten everyone something they would enjoy more than the books he'd handed out last year.

He'd managed to find a proper strop for Magnus, enchanted to protect the blades that it sharpened so that they'd dull slower and be less likely to break. There was a solid bronze handle attached to it that made wrapping it far harder than it should've, and in the end he gave up on neatness and twisted a hunk of paper around it like the end of a hard candy wrapper.

Merle's was more difficult, but he ultimately decided on a pot full of purple starbuds. During the day, the blooms were wound into a tight, dark purple cone, but come night, they'd unfurl into a star-shaped flower with a twisted center, and clusters of white speckles on the petals would be visible. Its broad leaves were also a great downer when dried correctly; Angus' grandfather used to smoke them occasionally, and it surprised him that he'd been allowed to buy them at all. He wasn't certain, but thought Merle would appreciate that feature. He'd only wrapped the pot, not trusting himself or Merle to not kill the plants if he put them in a box.

Their presents were sitting in a corner, waiting to be handed out, and he was currently trying to wrap Taako's. He'd been at an utter loss for his present. He wanted to get him something he'd really like, but realized with surprise that he didn't know what that might be. Magnus was an open book and loved to talk about woodworking, and Merle was a Panite, so a woodworking tool and a plant seemed like obvious choices. Taako, though not exactly quiet, didn't actually talk about himself that much. Angus knew he loved to cook, but he also knew that cooking was a sore spot for him, so an enchanted utensil may not be a good idea. He liked magic, but already had a powerful magic focus. After perusing the shelves of Fantasy Costco for a few hours (across the course of a few days, as Garfield's staring quickly unnerved him), he decided to get him an Alchemist's Ring. He was pretty sure Taako liked jewelry, and if he, Merle, or Magnus ever needed to resort to a health potion on the field, this would make it stronger. It even seemed to fit with his style, which was very lucky. At the last second, he grabbed a basic acrylics set and a mug that said "World's Best Wizard." He proceeded to paint some pink flowers around the text and wedge the word "Flip" before "Wizard". (Taako had reluctantly given a demonstration of his acrobatic skills when Angus had asked why his friends occasionally called him that, and he was still amazed.) Now, Angus was definitely a better detective than an artist, but after a few restarts and a lot of touch ups, he was very proud of his handiwork. It was just too bad he couldn't give the flowers a scent. Maybe he'd try a prestidigitation on it when he gave it to Taako.

He carefully dropped the ring box into the mug, set it into a box, tucked his spare towel around it, and wrapped it the best he could. Mission accomplished. Giddy, he placed the gifts under the shrub and turned on the mostly-working fairy lights. He knew the boys held their own traditions around the same time, almost two weeks away, so he'd keep them there until then. He turned to the handful of mismatched candles on his dresser, closed his eyes, and attempted to cast prestidigitation. They flickered to life on his second try, and he let out a whoop.

It really felt like Candlenights in his little room. All he needed was a macaron; it had only been one year, but he already viewed them as a Candlenights tradition he wanted to continue.

He knew cooking was a testy subject for Taako, but couldn't help but hope that he'd get another one for Candlenights this year.

—

Wednesday morning dawned bright and clear— literally dawned. The sun was barely over the horizon and Angus McDonald, Boy Detective and notorious Early Bird, was already up and at 'em, hanging out in a corner he'd claimed in a lounge dome near his dorm. It was magic day once again. Six months of weekly magic lessons had only grown his enthusiasm, and he was pouring over the pages that he'd dedicated to magic notes in the back of his beat up little notebook.

He looked up at the quiet _whoosh_ of the door opening, and the thumping of snow-laden boots on the entry rug.

"Hello, Madam Director!" He chirped.

The Director jumped, gaze quickly swinging around the small room and landing on Angus. She relaxed and exhaled an embarrassed sound somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle.

Angus' eyes had widened to the size of saucers. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Madam! I didn't mean to scare you!"

"It's alright, Angus," she started, regaining her composure and gliding to his little corner. "I wasn't paying attention, I suppose." She started removing her gloves and took a seat on the couch across from him and smiled gently. "What are you doing up this early?"

"Oh, I'm always up this early! Early bird gets the worm, my grandpa always said! Which was strange, since he sometimes got annoyed at how early I was up. What about you, Madam?"

"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I took a walk." As she put her gloves in her shoulder bag, her hand nudged something and she peeled up. "You know what, Angus? I know it's still a little early in the season, but I've got something for you."

The Director pulled something out of her bag, and Agus breathed a quiet "Whoa."

It was a small parcel, wrapped in shiny, blue paper, scattered with delicate silver stars and elaborately tied with a sleek, grey bow. It was completely free of wrinkles, almost seamless, and he couldn't tell what was holding it all together. If he didn't know better, he'd even say it glowed just the tiniest bit. Angus had to wonder if there was a spell for gift wrapping, or if the Director had just been hiding insane proficiencies in paper folding and knot tying. He was reluctant to even touch the gleaming paper, especially since he was pretty sure he knew what it was.

The package was the size and shape of a book, and it was well known among the base that _Caleb Cleveland: Kid Cop_ was his favorite series. What was less well known was that he already owned all the books. A copy or two would be an easy gift for him if someone wasn't sure what else to get him. He had half a mind to thank the Director, bring the present back to his dorm, and display it as it was.

She had the slightest of self-satisfied smirks when he looked back up. She pushed it towards him. "Go on, open it." She must've seen his hesitation, because she chuckled. "Don't worry about the paper, I can wrap it back up afterwards if you'd like."

He nodded and took the gift. It felt heavier than he expected it to be, more sturdy than his usual paperbacks. Maybe an exclusive cover? He worked off the bow and removed the paper, still careful to keep it from tearing.

Inside was a box, which he also opened and slid the contents into his free hand. It was a book, as he expected, but it wasn't _Kid Cop._ It was a journal. The cover was made of beautifully tanned leather, with a pen holster on the spine and a cover flap that was fastened closed with a large, walnut wood button. There was an engraved jellyfish on the right side, dyed purple, blue, and green. He ran his fingers over the engraving, and the jellyfish seemed to float under his touch. Soft, tiny lights in its umbrella blinked once, twice, and went dark again.

The Director reached in front of him and pointed at the button. In silent awe, he unfastened it and pulled open the flap. On the inside, hand-engraved, were the words "Detective's Notes."

"I noticed your old one was getting a bit ratty," she said. "The button is charmed. It stores two spells. If you tap it two times, it'll cast 'reduce' on the notebook so you can put it in your pocket. Tapping three times will cast 'enlarge,' and it'll return to normal."

"I- Thank you, Madam Director!" Angus' eyes were starting to well up, but he grinned ear-to-ear. "I love it! I haven't gotten a new notebook in... I think 2 years? Maybe? This is fantastic, I actually have clean pages! I won't need to keep scribbling in margins, and putting Fischer on the cover, did you do that yourself? Thank you so much, it's so cool! What spell was that? Oh, that pen holster is gonna be so great-"

The Director smiled softly as he rambled on, but as she watched, her face changed. She slid off the couch and knelt down to Angus' height. Her smile had disappeared, the corners of her mouth turned down in concern as she looked him in the eye. "Angus, I'm going to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me."

Startled by the sudden change in mood, he settled down and nodded.

"You _are _happy here, right?"

"Of course, Madam Director!" She didn't look convinced, so he continued, "I've got my own room, I live on an awesome floating base, and I'm able to use my detective skills to help people. Almost everyone here is super nice, and I'm getting to learn magic!"

The smile returned, and tension drained from her shoulders that Angus hadn't fully realized was there. She reached out and ruffled his curls. "Good, I'm really happy to hear that. I just want you to know that no one's forcing you to stay here. You're extraordinarily bright, Angus, but I fear that I may have dragged you into a situation you don't want to be in. We all love your company, and you're a great help, truly. But if you ever want to leave, just say the word. Or even if you want to stay on the base, but keep out of missions. Just. Let me know if you're unhappy."

This was clearly something that had been weighing on her for a while. Angus nodded solemnly. "I will, Madam Director. I promise."

"Thank you." She tentatively opened her arms, and Angus stepped forward and hugged her, notebook still clutched in one hand.

"Happy Candlenights."

Her eyes crinkled into a true smile. "Happy Candlenights, Angus."

When the hug ended, the Director looked at him with a hint of slyness in her gaze.

"You said 'almost everyone.' I feel like you might be referring to Taako, Magnus, and Merle. Just a little secret, Angus: Taako's teasing isn't meant to be hurtful. He considers it friendly ribbing of an equal. You mean quite a lot to him. Merle and Magnus, too."

Angus beamed. "That's what I thought! At least, I was pretty sure, but it's..."

"Hard to tell with those boys, yeah."

They both smiled.

"Oh, hey! Can you-" Angus moved to grab the box, planning on asking the Director to rewrap it, but when he turned around, it was already done. He looked back at the Director, who was clearly trying not to grin.

"Can you please teach me that?"

"You know what, Angus? Talk to me next Candlenights, and I'll give you some tips."

Magic lessons went by far quicker than Angus liked, as per always, but they went well. Taako commended him on his Mage Hand, the basics of which he nailed a while ago, but the aesthetic? Not so much. He had finally gotten a fully-formed, not nightmarish hand today. They had started working on the different facets of prestidigitation too, which was coming along nicely.

Now they were walking across the main campus of the base. Angus wasn't quite sure where, but he hadn't been shooed off yet, so he stuck around. He'd noticed that Taako was more bundled up than he normally liked, with a shorter hat, and that he'd stopped to pull Angus' beanie over his ears and make sure he had gloves on before they went outside. While it did make him grin, he didn't think about it much. They were thousands of feet in the air in the middle of winter. It was cold out.

What he hadn't quite yet discounted was the way Taako kept looking around once they stepped outside of the mess hall. He couldn't tell if he was nervous or expectant, but he was... something, and it was putting him on edge. Taako only said that "Everything's good, Ango D'jango" when he asked if something was wrong, so he was trying to put it out of his mind.

To help ignore how distracted Taako was acting, Angus started rambling about any and everything, from the lesson to how pretty the campus looked covered in snow, and that was when a snowball landed two feet in front of him. He heard the vinyl squeak of winter material as Taako quickly hopped to the right, and a quiet _thump_ as a second snowball hit his arm in spite of his best efforts.

Behind a mound of snow not twenty feet away came a voice. "Merle, you have the _worst_ aim."

And from a tree ten feet to their right came: "Hey, sorry we aren't all gifted with decent athletics!"

A red pom-pommed hat atop a familiar bearded face popped up from the mound, and Magnus grinned as he threw another snowball. Angus was bracing for impact when he was swept off the ground; Taako had picked him up and tucked him under his arm as he ran for shelter. Dodging hits all the way, he crouched behind a half wall that normally framed a seating area and set Angus down next to him. He was smirking, and a competitive gleam lit up his eyes.

"Start making snowballs," he ordered, already starting on his own pile. Angus started to do so, but after spending fifteen seconds on one, Taako interrupted. "Don't go for shape, just get it packed. Have you never made a snowball before?"

Angus shook his head. "Not in the middle of a fight!"

"...Oh. Well, here, just— grab a double handful of snow, and—" he quickly packed it into a lopsided ball, and Angus mimicked him. "Yes, perfect! Keep doing that!"

In no time, they had a pile of ammo the height of Angus sitting criss-cross. The battlefield was quiet. After a few moments, footsteps crunched across the snow towards them, and Angus knew why they hadn't returned fire: Taako was luring them closer.

Indeed, Taako was peering through a crack in the wall, grinning an evil grin. Angus found another hole, and sure enough, Magnus was out in the open halfway between their wall and his mount, trying to be sneaky.

"Hey, bubula," Taako whispered, "Wanna see a trick?"

Angus nodded vigorously.

"Alright, cast Mage Hand, but keep it low." After a second, two Mage Hands appeared near the snow. Taako put a snowball in each, and his Mage Hand wrapped around it. Ango had his do the same. "Load it up, wind back," the Hands drew back, and Taako peeked his head just barely above the wall. Angus followed.

Magnus made eye contact with them and froze, then paled when Taako yelled, "And fUCKING CHUCK IT!"

His Mage Hand launched the snowball directly into Magnus' chest, and he stumbled back. Angus' came damn close. From then on, it was all-out war. Magnus and Merle were worthy opponents, but Taako and Angus fiercely defended their base, their Mage Hands giving them twice the throwing capacity. Angus even got a few hits in, and Taako yelled encouragement each time.

The battle ended an hour later, when Merle used Shield of Faith on Magnus, allowing him to barrel through the onslaught and dump a Heroic Memories Shieldful of snow on both of them. Angus was laughing too hard to continue at that point, and while he didn't want to head inside, he had to admit to himself that he was getting cold. Taako seemed to agree and started complaining about how elves aren't meant for this weather, he was going to catch his death out here, etc. etc. Magnus and Merle gave each other a knowing look at that, though Angus wasn't sure why.

Davenport had a platter of hot chocolate ready for them when they came in, serving it with his usual cheerful "Davenport!" Angus grabbed a mug and thanked him profusely, clinking mugs with Taako.

Time to cross "snowball fight" off his bucket list.

Another week and a half passed relatively quietly. There were no missions, no big disasters (unless an exploding snow duck counted- so he didn't have the cleaning part of prestidigitation down yet). Just the usual, wonderful mess of mashed together traditions that came with the season.

Angus had spent most of the day in the library, and bolted back to his dorm when he noticed the sun going down. It always got frigid on the base when it was dark, and he wasn't prepared for the cold because hadn't planned to stay so long. He'd just gotten sucked into an older _Caleb Cleveland_ book that he'd read probably a hundred times now. Those older books were pure gold. It was just a shame that Grant Andrews had died. His son had tried to take over, but he just didn't have the same style.

Not to mention aging Caleb up to a teen was probably the worst decision ever.

Angus made it back minutes after sunset, and was still stomping his feet to get some feeling back to them when he opened his door. His alarm bells immediately went off. Something felt different. He scanned the room from the doorway, investigating each corner, but nothing looked like it had been moved. Nothing was missing. He took a tentative step inside and shivered. It wasn't as cold as it was outside, but it was definitely a few degrees cooler than the hall. As small a room as it was, it was normally warmer than the hall.

Wait.

He glanced at his Candlenights shrub. The fairy lights were off. He could've sworn he left them on; he almost never turned them off during the holidays. Still glancing around, he crept towards the shrub and flicked them on.

There was a fourth gift under the shrub. He'd missed it in the gloom, and it was no wonder why: in contrast to the rest, this one was covered with black fabric, and a sleek black feather was tucked into a fold at the top. It was half off of the table, like whoever put it there was in a rush or afraid of being caught.

Someone had been in his room. He had no clue what might be under those wrappings. He should go get someone. Taako, or the Director, or one of the guards.

But no one but the Bureau members could even get to the Moon Base. None of them would try to hurt him... Right?

Despite his better judgement, Angus found his hand drifting towards it. He tugged part of the fabric away to reveal a cover with a very familiar design, but an unfamiliar title. The top was bordered with golden yellow roses whose petals seemed to be made of gemstones. Below them was a large police badge, with a wooden wand crossed behind it. Inside the badge was written:

_Caleb Cleveland and the Secret of the Amber Rose._

That was strange. Angus didn't know of a _Caleb Cleveland_ book with that title, and even stranger was that the badge and wand was the cover style used for the older books. They didn't use that style anymore. His first thought was that a new book had somehow come out without him knowing, and they'd reverted back to the old covers. Maybe they'd even gone back to the old format, with Kid Cop! He started to pull away the rest of the rest of the fabric, and his eyes drifted to the bottom of the cover.

_By Grant Andrews_

That... couldn't be right. Grant Andrews died years ago. It was far too official looking to be an old draft; people had already unearthed some of Andrew's drafts, and he didn't bind them. Was it a forgery? Did someone try to publish something in his name? Could it be a super obscure early series book?

Okay... when was this published?

He flipped to the copyright page and skimmed. It was published... This year?

Alright... It had to be a forgery, right? A fanwork? If it was an official fanwork, it'd be published by Blueglades. He kept scanning, and... nope, definitely not. Silver Sea Publishing. He'd never heard of that company.

Angus' eyes kept drifting to the summary in the jacket. It looked... really good. Really true to the series. He glanced at the copyright page, then back to the jacket. As much as he wanted to solve the mystery of where this book came from, the mystery printed on its pages called to him more. He climbed into bed, lit the bedside candles with prestidigitation and a quick, proud smile, opened the book, and dug in.

As dedicated a reader as Angus was, he was still, almost invariably, the "early to bed, early to rise" type. He woke up just before dawn the next morning, _the Secret of the Amber Rose_ fallen half-open on the bed in front of him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, stopping dead when he realized his glasses weren't on his face. He looked around and found them on his bedside table. Oddly, the candles were out- not burned down, just out. Eyebrows furrowed, he reached for his glasses, put them on, and scanned the room for the second time in twelve hours.

Once again, he found his shrub tampered with. The three presents he had placed underneath were gone, replaced with three different ones. Further investigation proved them to be from Taako, Merle, and Magnus. He laughed; they must've broken in to leave their presents, and couldn't resist when they saw some with their names. Very on-brand. He grabbed the presents, sat down in front of the shrub table, and set to opening them.

He tore open Magnus' first, and immediately wondered if he and the Director had worked together. It was a wooden pen, and looked to be made of the same walnut wood as the button on his notebook. There was a built-in grip near the nib, and a small carving of a wizard's hat at the end, which had the word "Ango" delicately carved around the brim. It was beautiful, and he put it right into the pen holder so he wouldn't lose it.

Next, he grabbed Merle's. It was a Trick Tract, and he almost sighed and put it aside, but decided to skim through it. A few pages in, he started to actually read it. Merle had put some thought into this one; it was about a boy detective investigating a supernatural occurrence on All Hallow's Eve. In place of the normal message at the end was a short, handwritten message that simply said, "Happy Candlenights, Fancy Lad." It was no masterpiece, but it was... good. Angus reread the final page a few times, grinning, before he finally closed the tract.

Last but not least, Taako's. Something shifted around in the box as he lifted it, so he slowed his movements and put it down gently. He peeled back the wrapping and found a note on top of the box, written with a flourish that made it almost illegible, "IOU, magical difficulties. Happy Candlenights, Mr. Wizard."

Well, that was cryptic, but he continued on and opened the box. His face lit up enough to power the Base.

It was a box of assorted macarons. It looked like Taako felt the same as him about making them a tradition.

As the sun rose and cast shifting hues of light through his small window, Angus gathered his presents and moved them onto his bedside table. He cuddled back into his blankets, picking up his book and choosing a cookie to nibble on.

He couldn't have asked for a better Candlenights.

End note:

-A strop is a piece of leather, usually nailed to a piece of wood, used to sharpen straight blades.

-I basically blended night sky petunias and the first and middle stages of moonflowers to get purple starbuds. They're both really pretty, and I got the side effects simply from someone describing the scent of moonflowers as "intoxicating."

-I pulled the _Caleb Cleveland _reference full circle, lol. The idea that the series went downhill 'cause the original author died is my personal headcanon, but I love it, especially because it means I got to do this. Krav is definitely bending rules here, but he did it for his bf and his boy. Don't tell the Raven Queen.

Happy Candlenights, RhymeReason, and I hope you enjoyed!


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